Coupling-operating mechanism.



C. A. HUMPHREYS.

COUPLING OPERATING MECHANISM. APPucATloN FILED SEPT. s. 11915.

l ,203, l 99. Patented Oct. 3],v 1916.

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'APPLICATION ms SEPT. e, 1915.

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@NTE SARS f. Specification of Letters Patent.

yIlartented. ct. 31, 1916.

Application le'd September 8, 1915. Serial No.749,463.

To all whom t may concern:

yBe it known that I, CHARLES A. 'HUM- PHREYS, a citizen of the United States, residing at'Chico, in the county of Butte and State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inCoupling- Operating Mechanism, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates vto improvements in operating devices for car couplers, and more particularlyto that class of couplers which have a swinging or radiating movement.

rIhe objects of the invention are to provide coupler operating mechanism which will obviate an employee goingbetween adjacent cars for the purpose of uncoupling the same; to provide mechanism of the character described which will permit uncouplingr regardless of the angle at which the ycouplers may be disposed; and to provide a device which is extremely simple in construction and operation, and absolutely devoid of any parts which will tend to preclude freedom of movement.

To the accomplishment of the recited objects and others cordinate therewith, the preferred embodiment of my invention resides in the construction and arrangement hereinafter described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings and embraced within the scope of the appended claims.

In said drawings-Figure 1 is a bottom plan view of a portion of a car equipped with my improved form of coupler operating mechanism. Fig. 2 is a detail perspective view of the coupler knuckle lock showing its connection with the coupler operating mechanism. Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the device, as shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a detail view of the draw-head, and Fig. 5 is a top plan view of the coupler partly broken away showing the manner of operating the knuckle.

In carrying out my invention, I support one end of a rock-shaft directly upon the bottom side of the radial pocket or pivotal point of the draw-bar, while the other end is connected to the coupler uncoupling knuckle lock. A crank depends vertically from the terminal of the shaft which is carried by the radial pocket, and this in turn is connected to an operating lever which lies in a very accessible position near the outside of the car under-frame.

'Referring more particularly `to the drawings, the numeral 1 designates the under- 'frame of a car, 2 the draw-head and 3 the draw-'bar which is pivotally connected at its back endto a radial pocket77 4. A bracket :.5 1s secured to the radial pocket 4 and pro- ]ects a slight distance beyond the lower edge thereof where it is fashioned into a bearing 6 for the inner terminal of a rock-shaft 7. The opposite terminal of the rock shaft carries a slightly bent depending link 8 to which is pivotally connected at '9 an l.- s'haped rod 10. This rod passesbeneath the draw-head and has its outer extremity curved so that it may be readily secured to an uncoupling lock eyeor rpull of the coupler ,'11, as at 12, the said eye being connected at its medial point to a link 13 pivotally secured 'to the knuckle lock 14, the knuckle being shownat 15. At opposite ends of eye 11 are fastened eye bolts 11 which extend transversely of the top and bottom of the coupler head and slide in ways 12. A coiled spring 13 encircles each eye bolt and is maintained in its respective way 12 by a guide nut 14. Upon again referring to the bracket, which may virtually be considered as a component part of the radial pocket, it will be seen that the bearing 6 has a medial opening 16 for the purpose of receiving and attaching to the rock-shaft one end of a vertical crank 17. The lower end ofthis crank is loosely secured to an eye 18 of a connecting rod 19 which is disposed at substantially right angles to the rockshaft and is operated by the bell-crank lever 20 located on the longitudinal side sill 21 of the car.

In operation, when it is desired to uncouple the cars, the employee simply grasps the bell-crank lever 20, and pulls outwardly against the tension of spring 22, whereupon motion' will be transmitted through the various parts previously described to open the knuckle 15 of the draw-head, as shown *by dotted lines in Fig. 5.

The advantage accruing from the novely feature of connecting the rock-shaft and the connecting-rod directly to the pivotal point of the draw-bar is that the maximum latitude of movement of the draw-head and draw-bar is provided without in any way affecting the functioning of the coupler operating mechanism.

It should be understood that in broader aspects the invention comprehends not only the employment of the means described, but

of equivalent means for performing the recited functions. I reserve the right to eicct such variations and modifications as may come Jfairly within the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

l. In an operating device for car couplers, the combination of a draw head having a transversely movable unlocking device, a pivoted draw bar, a rock shaft extending substantially parallel with said draw bar and having its rear end substantially coincident with the pivot of the draw bar and having at its forward portion an off-set extremity, a rod extending beneath the draw head in a plane parallel with the plane of movement of the unlocking device and connecting the unlocking device with said extremity, and means connected to the rear end of said rock shat for operating said shaft, whereby the rod is moved in the direction of its length to eiiect a movement of said unlocking device.

2. In an operating device for car couplers, the combination of a draw head having a transversely movable unlocking device, a

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the pivoted draw bar, a rock shaft, extending substantially parallel with said draw bar and having its rear end substantially coincident with the pivot of the draw bar and having at its forward portion an olf-set extremity, a substantially L-shaped rod having its longer portion extending beneath the draw head in a plane parallel with the CHARLES A. IIUMPHREYS.

Witnesses:

C. L. STiLsoN, ELEANOR F. StrnisoN.

Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, I). C. 

